The Unseen Facade
by Originals143
Summary: Amidst a big loss in his life, he earns a new assurance, a new relation he had never experienced till date, from someone he had least expected.


**|: The Unseen Facade :|**

**A/N :** I know I have been concentrating a bit too much on Vivek and Tasha lately. But, this is something I wanted to do since a very long time. So, I figured I should just get it off my chest. :-)

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Even the loneliest of the flowers fades of solitude, the grass withers away, and the empowering waters of the river need solace in the sea. Even the ruler of the jungle feels vulnerable without an ally.

He had read and heard stories of animals dying of isolation, birds perishing due to lack of companionship. He himself had lost count of the days – or perhaps years – his heart had spent in the barren state, the pain enclosed in the chambers, from the moment he had fired the trigger.

Yet, there was something. Something very inexplicable, an invisible wave of strength which kept the boy going. Since the time he had been eyeing him from within the four walls of his cabin, he couldn't recollect the last time the boy had ascended his head up from the file. Nearly four hours had passed, he calculated.

ACP Pradyuman wondered what made the boy work so hard. Till he exhausted himself. And still kept going. The thoughts made him subconsciously walk towards him, his eyes fixed on the latter, trying to figure what the boy's face showed. Considering his ability to reckon a criminal's thinking just by his behavior, he was at a loss of words on how he failed to read the boy's face. It was blank. No satisfaction. No stress. Not even a hint of weariness.

It was a rare occurrence, indeed, when ACP Pradyuman - who was apt at scrutinizing every single emotion going through a person just by looking at them – failed to understand what was running through the boy's mind. For a split second, it seemed to him as though he was witnessing a machine working in front of him.

A frown creased his forehead, and his eyes went up to the wall-clock. It struck half past nine. _Had the boy even eaten anything? _He wondered, scratching a part of his forehead, as he walked up to him, and found him scribbling something very rapidly on a notepad.

For the second time that night, he again tried analyzing the boy's mind, albeit, more closely. And he failed. The boy's face seemed impassive, devoid of any unfathomable expression. _Was it a good sign? _ He asked himself, as he continued staring at him. His heart, however, was giving him a different signal.

It had all started since the other day. _That_ day. When they lost _her_ forever. Remembering it made the Assistant Commissioner's heart ache, and his expression changed to a more worried one, as he looked at the boy, who was still engrossed in writing.

"Sir!" His thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice. He was so preoccupied that he didn't realize when the boy had rose from his seat, the hazel eyes now starting deep into his own. "Sir, the report of the last week's Suresh murder case is done." The boy spoke in an unnaturally calm voice, holding the file of the aforementioned report to its advantage.

_How? _He again found himself thinking. Taking a deep breath, just so the latter shouldn't start getting concerned about him, he composed himself. "Uhh.. yea, yea. OK!" He found his voice, and the boy returned a faint smile.

"It's too late. I'll drop you home." He offered, but the boy instantly cut in. "It's alright, Sir! Anyways, I have some more work to wind up." He answered, turning to settle back on his desk. "Vivek! That's more than enough for today. Right now, you're coming with me. That's an order!" ACP Pradyuman said in an authoritative tone, before the Inspector could open his mouth to protest.

At that moment – the first time in all those years – he found the authoritativeness in his tone was more of a concern than a command.

The Inspector quietly obliged, arranging all the papers neatly in a drawer, and followed the Assistant Commissioner out of the bureau.

The journey to the Inspector's house that night was the most silent one ACP Pradyuman – or his car – had seen in the entire tenure in the CID. His car had been a witness to countless conversations of case discussions, evidences, suspects, plots or very often, light talks of friendship, mostly between its owner and Dr. Salunkhe during all those years it had loyally served the Assistant Commissioner.

That evening, however, ACP Pradyuman shifted uncomfortably behind the wheel, as the eerie atmosphere seemed to swallow him in. Vivek, in the passenger's seat was undeceived by the surroundings, the soothing weather or the fact that the investigative head of the team was driving him home. He stared out the window, gazing emptily at the skies, as though trying to talk to them.

Having one look at the boy, ACP Pradyuman finally cleared his throat. "So.. I spoke to your mom yesterday." He said, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible, which made the Inspector turn his head towards his direction.

"My mom?" Vivek's asked in a surprised yet anticipating tone. "Yeah! She had called me." ACP Pradyuman supplied, now concentrating on the road.

Vivek squirmed in confusion. "Wh.. Why? Am I going wrong somewhere, Sir?" He asked warily, to which the Assistant Commissioner instantly cut him off. "No, no Vivek! Stop underestimating yourself, for God's sake!" He spoke in a slightly annoyed tone, which invariably changed to a soft one. "You're brilliant! Trust me, you are! I've always been proud of you, whether you believe it or not." He smiled in assurance at the Inspector, who gave a wry smile – the second one for the evening.

Taking a deep breath, the Assistant Commissioner ploughed on. "But.. you're way too brilliant. Or rather, have become so since the past few weeks. You've been slogging yourself day and night." His voice cracked as he spoke. Vivek listened silently.

"Of course, it's a good thing. You've been proving yourself even since you joined the team, and just as all my boys, I have full faith in your talent." He supplied in a voice, which Vivek had never thought he would hear from the Assistant Commissioner.

Giving a deep sigh, he continued. "But, do you realize how much is it _killing_ you? Your mom says – and even I have the same opinion – that you spend hours and hours in your room, sitting isolated in a corner, staring at your laptop or working on some files. You give your best when needed... but sometimes, it's too much than what's asked for." He gave the Inspector an affectionate smile before continuing.

"I've always wanted my boys to work hard, put all their sweat in solving a case... but not to the extent that they completely ignore themselves!" He said, his voice now turning hoarse, and barely above a whisper. "Look at you! You've been spending the entire day keeping yourself so occupied with work, that you seem to have forgotten yourself somewhere." He said in a fatherly tone.

Vivek merely set his head down, unable to speak a word. He knew every single word his senior was saying was true.

"Don't do that, Vivek! Don't stress yourself so much that you don't even realize there's another world revolving around you. The world which loves you. Which needs you." His tone changed to a pleading one.

He was aware the words would prick Vivek like a sharp needle, but nonetheless, he decided to say them once and for all. "Vivek, I know what it feels losing someone very close to you. I know! And I understand it's not easy to be back to your normal self, when you realize you'll never be seeing that someone again. But, the one who lives back suffers the most. And no matter how harsh it may seem, we have to go on. To try to be ourselves again. For that's the only way which can make your loved one's soul rest in peace!" He paused, fighting back the tears which were now forming in his eyes.

"Tasha's death has been a big loss for all of us, Vivek. We will always have that emptiness around us. But, do you think she'll be happy seeing you ruining yourself this way?" He said, and needless to say, her name was enough to break his heart into pieces. He looked away, his face bearing an agonized expression, not before ACP Pradyuman noticed it.

"Vivek, it's like running away from reality. You have blocked all entrances of your heart to emotions, by keeping yourself busy. So that your heart doesn't get time to think about what it has lost. However, the people around you are the ones who notice it. Notice what you don't want to. They are the ones who constantly worry about you, with a hope that you will come back to your normal self some day." He explained. Vivek turned back to his senior, trying to make sense of his words.

ACP Pradyuman felt his own heart being axed into bits, as he continued further. "Vivek, I've killed my own son with my hands. Do you know how difficult it must have been for me that time? I admit, I myself have spent weeks going into bouts of depression." A lump rose in throat as the incident swam in front of eyes.

"But, I realized I had to move on. My team needed me. There were people around me for whom I had to live! I had to think about them." He looked at the Inspector, who now seemed to realize the importance of the words.

"Vivek, do you know what Freddy keeps telling me? He says 'I miss Vivek!' He keeps nagging me day and night on how he can't bear to see you in such a state. For he is just not used to seeing the Vivek who wastes a day without teasing him, without pulling his leg. He silently prays for his old friend to come back. He craves for being a victim to your pranks. Have you noticed it?" He wanted to know.

The Inspector slowly shook his head, letting go of the tears which he had held captive all the while.

ACP Pradyuman placed an assuring hand over the Inspector's and smiled. "I know your mom is your world. You live for her, don't you?" He looked at the Inspector, his eyes searching for an answer, and he got the third faint smile for that evening in return.

Vivek finally found his voice, and his heart suddenly felt light. As though a heavy burden had been lifted off it. "That she is! My world begins on my mom and ends on her." He spoke in a subdued tone.

"So, _live_ for her. _Live_ for the people around you. Love them and let them love you! Your mom will be proud of you if you win a medal for your achievements. But, she will be prouder if you are happy. Try to make her prouder. Similarly, Freddy will be happy if you pull his leg, and still bring a smile on his face. Try to make him happy. You will, won't you?" He asked with an affectionate smile, and Vivek returned a confident nod, with a broad smile which ACP Pradyuman had not seen in months.

Feeling slightly better, he continued. "Your talent is too precious to be wasted, Vivek. Make the best of it. But, at the same time, live for yourself. Go out like you used to, before. Get your old self back, Vivek. Everyone, I mean, _everyone_ misses it." He spoke in a persuasively pleading voice.

"And I am not ordering you as a senior. Or because your mom told me to speak to you. I am saying because I genuinely, wholeheartedly care for you. From the bottom of my heart. Don't take my words as being spoken by a senior. Take them as though your father is talking to you." He smiled, and Vivek let out a soft chuckle.

"Father!" He said the word with an uncanny bitterness in his voice. "Till date, till _this_ day, I never knew what a father was." He poured out a part of his feelings, which he had locked within the confines of his heart all the years. "My parents got divorced when I was eight. Dad left mom for another woman. From that day, I never even tried to find out about him. Whether he was alive or dead. All I knew was I had to take care of my mom. She has suffered everything. Right from raising me singlehandedly to enduring the society's taunts. She has been my mother _and_ father right since my childhood." He confessed, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you, Sir! Thank you for making me realize what a father is. I had never experienced that one relation in my life. Till _this_. Thank you!" Vivek smiled.

ACP Pradyuman merely patted his cheek, and spoke in a mild voice. "So, I hope we get to see our favourite prankster soon enough!" He raised his eyebrows affectionately, and the Inspector gave an assuring nod. "Very soon!" He smiled.

As he watched him walk away towards his house, ACP Pradyuman recollected the last time he had seen his son in someone. As though he was talking to Nakul himself.

He finally let the tears flow down from his eyes, as he watched the Inspector walk away towards his house.

**~~ The End ~~**

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**A/N :** As of now, I have nothing to say on how annoyingly and pathetically hilarious this fandom can get. (Read : As of now!) If some jobless reviewers come out of nowhere to bash my friends unnecessarily for no valid reason, I WILL fight.

Don't even bother clicking on the "Review" button if you don't like the story. I won't take someone's pointless allegations and claims just because _they_ don't like the concept. You are free to ignore something which you hate.

Thank you.


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